peor” 
University of the State of New York Bulletin 


Entered «as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, 
N. Y., under the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at 
special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, act of 
October 3, 1917, authorized July 19, 1918 


Published Fortnightly 





ALBANY, N. Y. February 15, 1926 
2 THE LIBRARY OF tyegTTL A 
% MAY Me 74929 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 





ENGLISH IN THE RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 
OF NEW YORK STATE 


BY 


Jacop S. ORLEANS 
Research Associate, Educational Measurements Bureau 


AND 


Epwin B. RicHarps 
Supervisor of English 


ALBANY 
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK PRESS 
1926 


G191r-Mr26-2900(4638) * 


THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


Regents of the University 
With years when terms expire 


1934 CuesTeR S. Lorp M.A., LL.D., Chancellor - - Brooklyn 
1936 ADELBERT Moot LL.D., Vice Chancellor - - - Buffalo 
1927 ALBERT VANDER VEER M.D., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D. Albany 
1937 CHaRLes By ALEXANDER IVA. CE. BI LLID 


Litt.: Dy fers Sa Grete oe i a Boe = a Ae 

1928 WALTER Guest Kettoce B.A., LL.D.- - - - Ogdensburg 
1932 JamEs Byrne B.A., LL.B, LL.D. - - - - =New York 
1931 THomas J. Mancan M.A., LL.D. - - - - - Binghamton 
1933 Witittam J. Wattin M.A. - - - - - - - Yonkers 
1935 “Witttam Bonpy M.A;.LL.B, PhDs DCL. Newsy oc 
1930 WitiiAm P. BAKER B.L., Litt. D. - - - - - Syracuse 
1929 Ropert W. Hicpis M:A.- - -°- - - - = Jamaica 


1938: Rortanp.B. Woopwarn B.A.- =~ = --= - .- Rochester 


President of the University and Commissioner of Education 


Frank P. Graves Ph.D., Litt. D., L.H.D., LL.D. 


Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education 


AUGUSTUS.S, DOWNING SLA. Pdi Db 1D LED: 


Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education 


James SuLuivan M.A., Ph.D. 


Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education 


Grorce M. Witry M.A., Pd.D., LL.D. 


Director of State Library 


James I. Wyver M.L.S., Pd.D. 


Director of Science and State Museum 


CuHarites C. ApAMS M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc. 


Directors of Divisions 
Administration, LLoyp L. CHENry B.A. 
Archives and History, ALEXANDER C. Frick M.A., Litt. D., Ph.D. 
Attendance, © 
Examinations and Inspections, AVERY W. SKINNER B.A., Pd.D. 
Finance, CLARK W. HALLIDAY 
Law, Irwin Esmonp Ph.B., LL.B. 
Library Extension, 
School Buildings and Grounds, FRAnK H. Woop M.A. 
Visual Instruction, ALFRED W. ABRAMS Ph.B. | 
Vocational and Extension Education, LEwis A. WILSon 


University of the State of New York Bulletin 


Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, 
N. Y., under the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at 
special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, act of 
October 3, 1917, authorized July 19, 1918 


Published Fortnightly 


No. 846 ALBANY ONJoY. February 15, 1926 


ENGLISH IN THE RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 
OF NEW YORK STATE 


At the request of the district superintendents of schools as agreed 
upon at their regional conference in the fall of 1924, and with the 
cooperation of the Supervisor of English, the Educational Measure- 
ments Bureau of the State Department of Education in the spring of 
1925 conducted a survey of the teaching of English as its fourth 
annual survey. 

iBaheg Ben 6 etl, 
In planning the survey, it was decided to test the following: 
In grades 4 through § 
Ability to correct errors in English T 


Ability to use correctly, certain commonly islsKRMRY essions 
Ability to write structurally correct sentences ’ His 


In grades 7 and 8 Ay BAG 
Literature information y c 1929 
Grammar recognition NI VERS Ty 


None of the existing standardized tests in English uke Abd Ae gy 
adequate to meet the demands of the situation since none covered 
the entire field satisfactorily. Construction of suitable tests was 
undertaken by Ethel L. Cornell, W. W. Coxe, J. S. Orleans and 
E. B. Richards. 

After a preliminary tryout the projected tests were reorganized 
under the following four headings: (1) sentence structure, (2) lan- 
guage usage (two parts), (3) grammar, (4) literature information. 

The sentence structure test provides situations to which the pupil 
is to respond by writing sentences, the number of sentences varying 
from one to seven, for the different situations. In all, twenty-four 
sentences are to be written by the pupil within the 20 minutes allowed. 
Each sentence is scored under each of the five elements that make a 
correct sentence. These are: (1) essential structure, (2) beginning 
capitalization and end punctuation, (3) spelling, (4) technical cor- 
rectness (internal punctuation and the like), (5) grammar and lan- 


4 TELESUNDVERSIT Ye OF ELS Ss Ad Hh SOHN Wie OR Ke 


guage usage. The answer to each situation is also scored for 
comprehension; that is, the extent to which the pupil comprehends 
the situation. 

The language usage test has two parts. Part 1 is a test of the 
pupil’s ability to choose correct expressions to replace incorrect ones 
in given sentences. Part 2 tests the pupil’s ability to write into a 
sentence the correct word which is omitted. The word omitted in 
each case is one that is commonly misused. The grammar test 
requires the pupil to choose certain grammatical forms (noun, prepo- 
sition, adverbial phrase, demonstrative adjective, passive verb, etc.) 
from a given paragraph. The literature information test requires 
the pupil to indicate the correct one of four possible completions to 
each of a series of facts concerning the readings in English literature 
required for the seventh and eighth grades. 

These tests are based on the New York State English syllabus. 
Only the simplest and most fundamental items are included. The 
content of the literature information test was taken only from the 
lists of required readings. The errors included in the language 
usage test are the most common and all of them appear in the syllabus. 
The items called for in the grammar test are all fundamental to an 
understanding of English grammar. 


GIVIUN Ge RES Shs 


The tests were taken by some 55,000 pupils. This number would 
undoubtedly have been even greater if the tests had been given earlier* 
and if the plans for the survey could have been announced at an 
earlier date. As it was, this number is more than three times the 
number that participated in any of the three preceding surveys.’ 

In all, six cities, thirty villages and ninety-six rural districts in 
forty-two counties participated in the survey.* Not all the pupils 
in each place took all the tests for the grade. , In general, however, 
the local survey in most cases was fairly complete. Table 1 gives in 
round numbers the total number of pupils in the State that took the 
tests in each type of school. 


1 The tests were given almost entirely between May 15 and June 15, 1925. 
2 The increase in clerical labor due to the large number of pupils and of test 
scores may be indicated by the fact that more than 500,000 tally marks had to 
be made in the tabulation, more than 150.000 numbers were copied to get total 
distributions for the State, more than 3000 totals were found and 245 medians 
for the State computed. This does not include about 14,000 totals and 14,000 
medians for separate places for each test in each grade. 

3 The report for the cities is not included in this bulletin since it was felt 
that the small number of cities kept the results from being representative of 
the cities of the State. 


ENGLISH IN RURAL ‘AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 5 


The tests were given and scored by the teachers, principals or 
superintendents and the class record sheets were sent to the Educa- 
tional Measurements Bureau. 


TERUG: ARSED Se OIEANS 


A separate tabulation was made for each test for each grade for 
each village school and for each type of school in each rural district. 
The rural schools were grouped under three types: one-teacher 
schools, two or three-teacher schools, and four or more teacher 
(graded village) schools. 


TABLE | 


Number of pupils in each grade in each type of school that took the 
English survey tests 











GRADES 
TYPE OF SCHOOL 4 2) 6 ii 8 TOTAL 
One-teachermn one ease ic 2750 21950 2 900 2 100 1 600 12 300 
Two or three-teacher..... 1 500 1 500 1 400 1 100 900 6 400 
Four or more teacher.... 4 700 4 500 4 000 3 800 Gins.00 20 300 
Villa gees mene elas ati. oe 2 506 2 500 23.00 2 000 1 900 i200 
Citys (saty pec kee en ete ede 1 000 1 200 1 000 . 1 100 850 5 Ao) 

‘Rotaligecrs ceosmrotn. ar 12 450 T2650) 11 600 10 


100 550. 55 350 





There are nine scores for each of grades 4, 5, and 6 and eleven 
scores ior each of grades 7 and:8. These 'scoresjare:, (1) essential 
structure, (2) beginning capitalization and end punctuation, (3) 
spelling, (4) technical correctness, (5) grammar and language usage, 
(6) form (total of scores 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), (7) comprehension, 
(8) language usage, part 1, (9) language usage, part 2, and for 
grades 7 and 8 only, (10) grammar, (11) literature information.’ 
The first seven of these scores are for the sentence structure test. 

For each grade in each village or district there were nine or eleven 
distributions. The separate distributions were combined for the 
same test, grade and type of school. This gave 245 distributions 


9d 66 


such as “ essential structure, fourth grade, village schools,” “ essential 


structure, fourth grade, one-teacher schools,” “ language usage, eighth 


2) 6% 


grade, two or three-teacher schools,” “grammar, fifth grade, village 
schools,” and the like. These 245 distributions were totaled and the 


medians were computed. 








1 These scores will be referred-to hereafter as E, B, S, T, G, F, C, Ll, L2, 
Gr., and Lit. 


6 THE UNIVERSITY GF THE- STATE OF NEW YORK 


GENERAL RESULTS Orr Erith Suh vay 


To understand the results of the survey, the maximum score for 
each test should be kept in mind. The maximum scores are: 


[ENP a tire OM oy: 24 points tes Se eee ee ee 18 points 
Bias ac eee 24 points keles Feuer 46 points 
OE a ph crcome eee 24 points L232. Sree 18 points 
i Ro aoe eee ee Spee 24 points GF ire ete Maco rast 48 points 
Gr Pee as og 24 points Lite ties sees 36 points 
| Set ao: Sarees: 120 points 


The median scores for each type of school in form, comprehension, 
language usage, grammar and literature are given in table 2. The 
median ‘scores for E, B, S, Viand G*are given in table-3. inethe 
villages. the medians for those schools having annual promotion are 
given separately from those having semiannual promotion. The 
medians for the village schools having annual promotion are given 
in italics since they are used later as a basis for comparison. Table 2 
reads as follows: The median fourth grade pupil in one-teacher 
schools who took this test obtained a score of 53.5 in F, 7.3 in C, 
10.9 in LI and 5.9 in L2. - The median fourth grade pupil in two and 
three-teacher schools obtained’ a score of 69.8 in F, 9.5 in C, ete. 
These tables are presented graphically in figures 1 to 9. 

In order to interpret-these results a brief statement of what the 
tests measure and of the method of scoring will be given. The usual 
tvpe of test provides rather artificial situations and hence an artificial 
product is usually scored. By an artificial situation is meant one 
that requires a response from the pupil in a way different from the 
usual ways in which he would use English. Such, for example, is 
the language usage test, part 1.» In the sentence structure test, how- 
ever, a number of real situations are set before the pupil and his 
responses are original productions. The sentence structure test, 
therefore, measures the pupil’s spontaneous composition. It is usual 
in the case of standardized tests to compare a pupil's score with grade 
norms including these of grades higher and lower than the one 
in .which he. is... Inj/the -case of the Sentence structure test 
such comparison must be made with caution since pupils of higher 
grades write longer and more complicated sentences and use more 
difficult words than pupils in the lower grades. The comparison of 
grade medians, therefore, in the case of this test is largely a com- 
parison in accuracy of writing. The median score for grade 8 in vil- 
lage schools is 104.0; for grade 4 it is 66.0. The difference between 
these is chiefly a measure of the difference in accuracy between 
the two grades. The difference in ability to write sentences probably 
is much greater because of the difference in the type of sentences 


SCHOOLS 


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, ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 13 


written by the pupils. This is even more true with the- several 
sentence structure scores. The value of these depends largely on the 
comparison of the parts of ‘the test with each other, that is. it is 
most valuable to compare the E, B, S, T and G scores with each other 
within each grade or for any one pupil. On page 21 there is a dis- 
cussion of the diagnostic use of the sentence structure test. 

The significance of a point on one of the sentence structure s~ores 
is made clear from the method of scoring. One point is allowed for 
each sentence that is perfect in each respect. Thus, if a pupil has a 
score of 17 on FE, then within the time limit he wrote seventeen 
sentences whose essential structure was satisfactory. If his score 
is 14 in S he wrote fourteen sentences that contained no errors in 
spelling, etc. 

Although the original purpose of the sentence structure test was 
to measure sentence form, it was found that a measure of compre- 
hension could be obtained with little added labor. Because of the 
importance of comprehension in the quality of English writing, it was 
felt that such a measure might help in diagnosing English difficulties. 
The value of the C score depends on the accuracy with which the 
papers are scored. Because this score was found to be rather sub- 
jective, it will not be dwelt upon to so great a degree as will the other 
scores. 

On the L1 test the pupil was asked to choose the correct gram- 
matical forms to be used in place of erroneous ones. Since the pupil 
might have chosen the wrong form, this test was scored by giving one 
point for each correct item and taking off one point for each incor- 
tect choice. The L1 score, therefore, represents the ability to choose 
the proper form in place of an incorrect one and to recognize as 
incorrect other possible but wrong forms. In the L2 test the pupil 
was given one point for each sentence in which he had filled in a 
word found in the key. Only those words were included in the key 
which fulfilled both of two conditions, namely: (1) were correct in 
form, (2) made the sentence correct from the point of view of good 


sense. In other words, this test involves comprehension tozether 


with the ability to use the correct form. 

The grammar test measures only the pupil’s ability to recognize 
certain fundamental grammatical forms. It does not measure his 
ability to use such forms in sentences, nor his ability to make gram- 
matical analysis. Each item on this test was given a score value of 
1, 2 or 3 points depending on the difficulty of the item. 

The literature information test measures only the pupil’s knowledge 
concerning authors, titles, characters, and types of pieces of litera- 


14 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


ture. It does not measure literary appreciation. Each item on this 
test had a score value of 1 point. 

An inspection of tables 2 and 3 and of figures 1 to 9 will bring to 
light the following facts: 

1 In general, the village schools had higher median scores than the 
other types of schools. 

2 The two or three-teacher schools apparently have done as well 
as the four-teacher schools. They are at a slight advantage in grades 
4 and 5 but do not quite equal the median four- ‘teacher school 
achievement in the upper grades. 

3 The one-teacher SERS are almost uniformly the lowest in all 
LEspects. 

4 In F and C, the median scores for village schools having annual 
promotion are uniformly higher than the median scores for village 
schools having semiannual promotion, but in L1, L2, Gr. and Lit. 
the opposite is uniformly the case. The reason for this uniform 
tendency is not apparent. 

5 The median scores in FE, B. S, T and G for village schools hav- 
ing annual promotion are, as in the case of F and C, uniformly 
higher in all grades than the median scores for village schools having 
semiannual promotion. 

6 Of the E, B, S, T and G scores, in grades 4 and 5 the S score 
is lowest in every type of school. In the seventh and eighth grades 
the T score is uniformly lowest and in the sixth grade the S and T 
scores both are lowest. In other words, in the lower grades 
inaccuracy in writing sentences is more frequently due to spelling 
errors and in the upper grades to errors in technical correctness. 

7 The median score for grammar in the seventh grade is approxi- 
mately 25 per cent of the maximum possible score and in the eighth 
grade it is approximately 45 per cent of the maximum possible score. 
On the other hand, the G score varies from about 50 per cent in the 
fourth grade to almost 85 per cent in the eighth grade. The median 
scores in language usage parts 1 and 2, vary from about 30 per 
cent in the fourth grade to about 60 per cent in the eighth grade. 
In other words, the ability of the pupils to write grammatically correct 
sentences is appreciably greater than their ability to correct errors in 
English and very much greater than their ability to recognize gram- 
matical forms. 

8 The greatest gain in I is made between grades 4 and 6. The 
same is true in C. In Ll and L2 the gain is fairly uniform from the 
fourth grade through the eighth grade. 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 15 


9 Since 5 points in F represent one errorless sentence, the differ- 
ences in accuracy of sentence writing, in the villages are 


between grades 7 and 8, _ .7 sentences 
between grades 6 and 7, .6 sentences 
between grades 5 and 6, 2.2 sentences 
between grades 4 and 5, 4.0 sentences 


In the third supervisory district of Broome county almost all the 
pupils who took the sentence structure test were also given the New 
York State Spelling Scale, a standardized spelling test consisting of 
lists of words read to the pupils. The existence of this data made 
possible an answer to the questions: (1) Do the pupils who spell 
correctly lists of words, spell correctly the words they use in their 
own compositions? (2) Is the relation between these abilities (list 
spelling and spelling of words in original composition) the same for 
all grades? 

The answers to these questions may be obtained through the use 
of correlation coefficients which give a measure of the correspondence 
existing between the two abilities. The scores on the New York 
State Spelling Scale were correlated with the S scores of the sentence 
structure test for each grade. Perfect correspondence, the highest 
pupil on the one test being highest on the other, etc., is shown by a 
correlation of 1.00. . No correspondence whatever is shown by a 
correlation of 0.00. The correlations found were: 


Grade Correlation No. of Pupils 
A Ric Ree aca .544 161 
5, ces ends keke .675 187 
COP, ere: 604 162 
Goer ari a 781 92 
Ce aie by. s 3 862 71 


The implication seems to be clear. In the seventh and eighth 
grades the best list spellers are on the whole the ones whose spelling 
in spontaneous writing is most correct. In the lower grades, par- 
ticularly the fourth, this is much less true. The reasons for this 
condition are not hard to find. The lower grade pupils have had 
much less practice in original composition, in English or in any other 
subject, than have the upper grade pupils. The standard of a perfect 
sentence is held up for the upper grades to a much greater extent 
than for the lower grade pupils. ; 

One would conclude then that the standard of a perfect sentence 
should be held to at an earlier period in the pupil’s school life, and 
perhaps also that the pupils in the lower grades be given more prac- 


16 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


tice in written expression in their school work. The effect of both 
these procedures would of course be cumulative and would influence 
results in the upper grades. | 

The above table of correlations indicates that at least in the eighth 
grade a standardized list test in spelling is a fairly good measure of 
a pupil’s ability to write original sentences that contain no errors in 
spelling. 

Table 4+ attempts to show in more concrete form the difference 
between the several types of schools. The median scores for the 
village schools having annual promotion are chosen as the basis for 
comparison. The table reads as follows: The village schools in the 
fourth grade exceed the four-teacher schools by .9 of a month in F, 
2.9 months in Li and 5.4 months in L2. They are exceeded by the 
two or three-teacher schools in grade 4 by 1.2 months in F but 
exceed the two or three-teacher schools by 1.4 months in L1 and 
4.9 months in L2, etc. By a “month” is meant a month of the 
school year. 

This table 1s constructed in the following manner: The difference 
between the fourth and fifth grade F medians in the village schools is 
20.2 points. . This is taken as a year’s achievement in F from grades 
4to5. -The difference between the fourth-grade F medians im the 
four-teacher and village schools is 1.8 points. This is 9 per cent 
of 20.2 points, a year’s achievement. Taking 10 months for the 
school year, 9 per cent of it would represent .9 months. The year’s 
difference for L1 between the fourth and fifth grades is 5.8 points. 
The difference between the fourth grade L1 medians for the one- 
teacher and village schools is 1.7 which is 29 per cent of 5.8, a year’s 
achievement in L1 for grade 4 to 5. Therefore this difference of 
1.7 points represents 2.9 months of school work. 

Where a number in table 4 is preceded by a minus sign, the village 
median is the lower of the two. Otherwise the village median is 
higher. Jt is obvious from the paucity of negative quantities in 
table 4 that the village medians are almost uniformly the highest. 
Whatever negative quantities appear in the table are small. 

In a few instances the differences between schools are great. For 
example, in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades the difference in F 
between the one-teacher and village schools is approximately a year 
and a half. The difference between the village and one-teacher 
schools in L1 is more than 10 months in grade 5, about 9 months in 
grade 6 and about 6 months in grade 8. The last line of the table 
gives the average of the differences for each type of school. The 
average difference between the village and one-teacher schools is 7 


LY, 


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ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE 


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18 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - 


months, almost three-quarters of a school year. The average differ- 
ence between the village schools and either the two or three-teacher 
schools or four-teacher schools is approximately 2 months. In only 
a few instances are the differences in any grade in any test appreciably 
large between the village schools and either the two or three-teacher 
or four-teacher schools. For example, in the sixth grade the differ- 
ences in F are fairly large. 

The average differences by grades between village and four-teacher 
schools are as follows: 


Grade Difference in months 
ths Ph perce Nags «aa endanger ee Sa 
er OE eer eto ME Wh & eras, Sis 3.4 
Ooch Bi sn coe es oe ie ees 4.8 
1s test SOON cet RENEE: cd ey eee ae c 
ie ie Or ee a oe aan ct See aS 


It is rather obvious from these figures that the four-teacher schools 
stress English much more in the seventh and eighth grades than in 
the lower grades to the extent of virtually equaling the achievement 
in the villages. The corresponding averages giving differences by 
grades tor the one-teacher and two or three-teacher schools do not 
show the same tendency to so marked a degree. 

Table 5 shows the range in years of school achievement necessary 
to include the middle 59 per cent of the pupils in F, L1 and L2 in 
grades 5 and 7. These grades were chosen as illustrative. The 
differences for the other grades are undoubtedly similar. The table 
reads as follows: In the fifth grade in village schools in accuracy of 
sentence form (F’) the pupil who is 25 per cent from the top of the 
grade is 3.1 years more advanced than the pupil who is 25 per cent 
from the bottom of the grade; in the seventh grade the difference 
between the 25 per cent and 75 per cent pupil in F is more than 4 
vears. In the four-teacher schools the corresponding differences are 
2.8 years for the fifth and 4.5 years for the seventh grade, etc. 


TAREE 5 


Showing the range in months of school work necessary to include the 
middle 50 per cent of scores in grades 5 and 7 of the several types 
of schools in (1) form (sentence structure total), (2) language usage, 

: part 1, (3) language usage, part 2 











GRADE 5 GRADE 7 
es 
F Li 2 F Ll d by 
Millages = 2c). «.cxcha Mera eee eae ae Soak See eal! 4.1+ Sti? 4.3 
Pour-teacher, schools? </..2.5 obs = a ae ia) Soe 4.5 3.4 4. + 
Two or three-teaeher schools ..... sho!) Sige 3.6 4.24 3.4 ae 
One-téacher Schools Peet t tiene iu 2.6 Qe/ 39 4.1 3.8 Ju 








ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 19 


The total range of ability within any one grade is, of course, much 
greater than for the middle 50 per cent. The smallest range shown 
in table 5 is more than 2% years, the largest is more than 414 years. 
The ranges are, on the whole, greater if the seventh than in the fifth 
grade but there is no consistent difference between types of schools. 

Table 6 shows the overlapping between the grades in each type of 
school. Again grades 5 and 7 are chosen as illustrations. The table 
shows the percentage of fifth grade pupils whose scores exceed the 
seventh grade median and the per cent of seventh grade pupils whose 
scores are lower than the fifth grade medians. It reads as follows: 
In the village schools 25.4 per cent of fifth grade pupils obtained 
higher’ I* scores than the seventh grade median; 27.5 per cent of the 
fifth grade pupils obtained higher L1 scores than the seventh grade 
median, etc. For grammar and literature a comparison is made 
between grades 7 and 8 since only these two grades took these tests. 

On the whole, the overlapping in the fifth and seventh grades is 
greatest in the villages and next in the two or three-teacher schools 
but the differences between types of schools are not appreciable. In 
grammar and literature the per cents are noticeably highest for the 
one-teacher schools and lowest for the village schools. This indicates 
a better grade classification in the villages than in the one-teacher 
schools as far as these two phases of English work are concerned. 
inet leleandsle2 theres no uniform difference between the types 
of schools. In general, however, it appears that about a fourth of 
the fifth grade pupils have higher scores than the median of the 
seventh grade and about a fourth of the seventh grade pupils have 
lower scores than the median for the fifth grade. In other words, 
about a fourth of the pupils in the one grade are classified about 2 
years too low and a fourth in the other grade about 2 years too high. 


TABLE. O 


Overlapping between grades 5 and 7 in the several types of schools in 
(1) form, (2) language usage, part 1, (3) language usage, part 2; 
and between grades 7 and 8 in (4) grammar and (5) literature 








information 

TWO OR 

FOUR- THREE- ONE-TEACHER 
VILLAGES TEACHER TEACHER So Oore 

SCHOOLS. scHOOLS 
F 25.4 26.8 PXGE A) 2 Sil 
Per cent of fifth grade above oe 27.5 21.8 24.2 7s 
seventh grade median....... | L2 22.6 18.3 20.7 24.3 
Per cent of seventh— grade [ AA Oe nn ae AES 
below fifth grade median.... Ge 6.0 13.0 3173 od 
Per cent of seventh grade § Gr. 13.4 15.4 BOA Does 
above fifth grade median.... | Lit. 9.1 opal Oe 25.9 
Per cent of eighth grade below §f Gr. 16.9 18.9 pars 270 
seventh grade median....... [Ait 10.0 Wh 15.6 2302 








20 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE -OF "NEW .YORK 


The overlapping between grades is greater in English than it is in 
arithmetic, reading and probably several other subjects. This is to 
be expected from the fact that English is not so much a basis of 
promotion as are arithmetic and reading. 

In order to interpret a pupil’s status on any of the tests the teacher 
must be equipped with grade standards for each test. Such a set 
of scores for the English survey test is given in table 7. Instead, 
however, of giving one standard for each grade, a score is given for 
each .l of a grade. Thus a pupil whose score in F is 28 has a grade 


TABLE / 


B scores for F (sentence structure total), language usage, part 1, language 
usage, part 2, grammar and literature information 


TEST SCORES TEST SCORES 


B SCORES F Ic B SCORES F E Gr. Ltt 

eld) 28 7 6.5 94 baal 

gal 30 8 6.6 95 29 

Bee 32 mea Oo7 96 Ae 

Se 34 9 6.8 97 one 

3.4 36 5a 6.9 ae: 30 

oes 38 10 

306 40 7.0 98 6 11 

Sey 42 11 Fuad anh of js 

3.8 44 pe ae, ey 8 13 

3.9 46 12 7:3 99 ou 9 14 
784 ae ae cay. pe 

4.0 48 i3 725 = 10 1s) 

ua 50 7.6 ae 33 11 16 

4.2 EY 14 Hees 100 Rte: 12 17 

453 54 15 7.8 Weds ag 13 18 

4.4 Oe 16 As ne 

4.5 58 es 

4.6 60 iW; 8.0 101 34 14 19 

4.7 62 18 refed a Rens 15 20 

4.8 64 8.2 oo 16 21 

4.9 66 19 8.3 102 36 17 22 
8.4 18 Pee 

5.0 68 re 8.5 of aoe 23 

mes | 4) 20 8.6 103 19 24 

is Ve iT 8.7 20 25 

5.3 74 Ze 8.8 38 21 26 

5.4 76 rae: 8.9 104 39 22 

5u5 78 Base 

a 80 24 9.0 40 eo 27 

Dah 82 yee 9.1 Fens 23 23 

5.8 84 25 02 105 24 29 

ape!) 86 Pat O23 he. 41 23 30 
9.4 a 26 

6.0 8&8 20 9.5 106 mys 31 

Ga 90) ye 9.6 - Prot 42 27 og 

Or 91 2k 9.7 ae 43 28 48) 

6.3 92 28 9.8 107 44 29 Pe 

6.4 93 fia 9.9 Pete 30 34 
10.0 31 35 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS WZ) 


standing of 3.0. In other words, a score of 28 in F is the average 
score for pupils just beginning the third grade. A score of 42 in F 
is the average score obtained by pupils at the end of the seventh 
month of the third grade. Therefore a score of 42 in F corresponds 
to a grade standing of 3.7. Such grade standings are technically 
known as B scores. Thus for any test whatever, if a pupil’s B score 
is 5.3, then the pupil’s status on that test corresponds to the end of 
the third month of the fifth grade. The advantage of the B score 
over the test score is obvious. The test score is meaningful only 
when interpreted by means of a table of norms. The B score, how- 
ever, is in itself a statement of the pupil’s grade standing. ‘The 
scores for language usage, parts 1 and 2, are combined and given as 
a single score in this table. 


es NN Ceo RUC ROR Tihs i 


A further statement needs to be added concerning the sentence 
structure test since it is different from the usual standardized test 
and should therefore be used in a different way. Besides, it may be 
of great value to the teacher and pupil if employed in the best way. 

As indicated above! it is most valuable to compare the sentence 
structure scores with each other and to compare the pupil’s I’ score 
with grade norms chiefly as a measure of accuracy. The use to 
which the scores may be put is illustrated in figure 10 which gives 
the scores for four selected pupils. In each case the pupil 1s weak 
in at least one of the five phases of sentence writing. This is, of 
course, not true with all pupils. 





Figure 10 Comparison of E, B, S, T and G scores with each other 
in the case of four selected pupils 


1 Page 13. 


22 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


These pupils attained the following scores: 


PUPIL E B S ok: G 
re MALS aot a 20 14 16 19 18 
iB ere ce eee eas 23 1a oS 19 23 
Cys Gus Sires 23 18 17 16 16 
DY ae ata t) 22 10 22 eas 


Pupil A is weakest in B, but this is not his only weak point. A 
brief inspection of his answer paper shows that all his errors in B 
are due to his leaving out the end punctuation of each sentence. 
His teacher by such an inspection learns what sort of drill pupil A 
needs. The teacher can in the same way determine what cause or 
causes produce his spelling errors. It should be added that each of 
pupil A’s scores are higher than the medians for the fourth grade in 
which he is. | 

Pupil B is somewhat, though not much, poorer in T than in any 
of the other scores. His errors consist in the omission of the 
comma in direct address and after an introductory clause. 

Pupil C is particularly weak in S. It is difficult to generalize con- 
cerning spelling errors, but an inspection of his paper shows that his 
misspellings are like mispronunciations —hosple for hospital, teach 
for teacher, ingin for engine, etc. 

Pupil D is much poorer in FE, S and G than in B or T. He is in 
the fifth grade and is lower than the grade norms in those three 
scores. His difficulty in essential structure lies in breaking up a 
sentence into several parts, beginning each part with a capital and 
ending each part with a period. His difficulty in S does not seem to 
be specific. He is apparently a very poor speller. His difficulty in 
G lies in his omitting words, for example, “ He asks his mother if 
go.” “Her mother put ad in paper.” His high score in T is the 
result of the fact that he needs no punctuation in the sentences he 
has written. In the case of pupil D it should be pointed out that he 
is 13 years old and in the fifth grade, that is, he is at least 3 years 
overage. 

The steps in making the diagnosis are: (1) compare the pupil’s 
scores with the norms for his own grade to determine whether he is 
doing as well as his grade or not; (2) find any particular score in 
which he is weak in comparison with the other scores; (3) inspect his 
answer paper to find, if possible, the nature of the weakness; (4) 
provide exercises to overcome the weakness; (5) if the pupil is poor 
in all respects stress sliould of course be placed on all phases of 


sentence form. 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 25 


The teacher will find it profitable to use the sentence structure test. 
not merely as a test, but as a diagnostic instrument as described above, 
and as a class exercise in the following manner. After the pupils 
have taken the test the teacher should have the pupils exchange 
papers and score them. The practice they will receive in scoring 
essential structure will aid them greatly in understanding its sig- 
nincance and in using it properly, and similarly for the other parts. 
The teacher by also scoring the test can learn which pupils fall down 
in the scoring and can thus learn more about the pupils’ ability to 
write correct sentences. 

As previously stated, the comprehension scores presented here are 
perhaps too subjective to be of value for individual pupils unless 
the papers are carefully scored. The teacher can obtain from the 
sentence structure test, however, an estimate of the extent to which 
the pupil comprehends what he is reading apart from the accuracy of 
the form of the sentence he writes. At times this item may be help- 
ful in analyzing the pupil’s difficulty. For example, a pupil’s low © 
comprehension score may indicate that poor comprehension is the 
reason for poor expression; or a pupil may show good comprehen- 
sion but poor form, the pupil therefore needing drill on form apart 
from comprehension. 


SUMMARY 

The outstanding facts concerning the status of English achieve- 
ment in grades 4 to 8 in New York State as shown by this survey are: 

1 Accuracy of sentence writing is stressed much more in the upper 
than in the lower grades. 

2 Accuracy in spelling words that the pupils use in their original 
compositions is greater in the upper grades where more stress is put 
on sentence form and the pupils have more written work. 

3 The status of grammar learning is undoubtedly poor. 

4 There is little relation between the level of grammar information 
and correct usage in free written expression. 

5 Sentence writing is not one unit function but is made up of at 
least five elements in any one or more of which a pupil may be weak. 
These five elements are essential structure, beginning capitalization 
and end punctuation, spelling, technical correctness (punctuation, use 
of capitals within the sentence, etc.) and grammar and language 
usage. 

6 If the requirements of the English syllabus for New York State 
are a fair standard, the achievement of the pupils is not so great as 
is to be desired, judging from the per cents that the median scores 


24 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


are of perfect scores on the tests. On the other hand, if the achieve- 
ment of the pupils is considered satisfactory, the requirements of the 
English syllabus are too high a standard. 

/ Overlapping in achievement between grades is greater in Eng- 
lish than in other school subjects: because English is not usually 
regarded so much as a basis of promotion as are such other subjects 
as arithmetic and reading. The overlapping is so great that about 
25 per cent of the pupils in one grade have higher scores than the 
median for two grades higher and 25 per cent have scores lower than 
the median of two grades lower. 

8 On the whole the village schools are highest in all tests in all 
grades. The one-teacher schools are noticeably lowest. The four 
or more teacher schools and the two or three-teacher schools are a 
little below the village schools. The four-teacher schools have per- 
haps a slight advantage over the two or three-teacher schools. 

9 The variability in achievement within any grade is exceedingly 
great. A range of 3 vears or more in English ability is necessary to 
include the middle 50 per cent in any grade. 

10 More errors in sentence writing occur in spelling in the lower 
grades and in technical correctness in the upper grades than in any 
of the other phases of sentence writing. Errors in grammar are 
relatively more frequent in the upper than in the lower grades. 

11 The differences between the different types of schools are 
greater in original English expression than in the more formal types 
of English work. 


RECOMMENDATIONS 


English is a very complicated subject. It involves among other 
things ability to write sentences, ability to spell correctly, ability to 
use punctuation and capital letters properly, ability to use correct 
grammatical forms, ability to detect and correct errors, certain 
formal information in grammar, information and appreciation of 
literature, etc. 

A measure of a pupil’s achievement in English must include 
measures of all these and other parts of English. Diagnosis of a 
pupil’s difficulty must be specific not for English as a whole but for 
each of the items mentioned. Aid to the pupil in overcoming his 
weaknesses must be not general but specific for each difficulty. The 
teacher will then do well to follow through a diagnosis for each pupil 
as indicated for sentence structure on page 22, keeping in mind that 
she must look for the pupil’s particular weak points rather than merely 
noticing whether his status in English is weak in general. 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS Be 


A diagnostic program such as indicated would go a long way toward 
improving English achievement, that is, if all the teachers in a school 
or district over a given period carried through the diagnostic steps 
indicated, there would result a useful quantity of information upon 
which to base further work in English. 

From the above report it would also seem advisable to make cer- 
tain modifications in the emphasis placed upon certain phases of 
English in certain grades. The standard of correct sentence writing 
should be set up when a pupil first begins to write his own sentences. 
The pupils in the lower grades should have more original written 
work. They can learn to write correctly only by writing. Much 
less emphasis should be put on punctuation in the lower grades 
because the pupils in those grades do not write sentences that need 
much punctuation. They will probably learn more about the use 
of the comma through writing sentences that need commas. Less 
stress in the lower grades should be placed on the correct spelling 
of lists of words and more on the spelling correctly of words the 
pupils use themselves. 

Arrangements were made with the Public School Publishing Company to 
print the tests and sell them at cost for the purpose of the survey. The com- 
pany is to be highly commended for their efficiency and cooperative spirit and 
for the extent to which their efforts made the survey possible. 

The language usage and grammar tests were used in the fall of 1925 in a 
nationwide English survey under the auspices of the Public School Publishing 
Company. <A report of the survey may be obtained from the company. The 
sentence structure and literature information tests have been revised and will 
be ready for use in the spring. 


The tests may now be obtained from the Public School Publishing Company, 
Bloomington, Ill. The price is $1 a 100 for each test. 


26 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


PRACTICES AN /TEAGHING ENGLISH @INGRURA ly 
VIECAGEVANDGGLTYeSCuOOrES 


A study of the pupil achievement in any subject, such as was under- 
taken in English in New York State in the spring of 1925, is of 
most educational value when it results in improved classroom pro- 
cedure and a better understanding of the subject. In order to 
propose remedies for difficulties it is necessary to appreciate the 
situation as it exists. To that end a questionnaire on the prevailing 
practice in teaching English in the public schools of New York State 
was sent out to teachers in one-teacher, two or three-teacher, four 
or more teacher, and village schools, as well as to teachers in six city 
school systems. 

The following pages are a summary of the questionnaires sent in. 

These items in particular are treated in a series of bulletins now 
being issued : 


Method of Procedure . Aims in Teaching English 
Correlation with other subjects Subject Matter 
The assignment Literature 
Devices in teaching Use of newspapers etc. 
Grammar Memory work 
Written work Supplementary reading 
Literature 


Table 8 shows the number of questionnaires received from the 
different types of schools and the number of questionnaires used in 
this study. In making the tabulations to obtain the results it was 
advisable not to use all the questionnaires because of the amount of 
time and labor involved. A random selection was made of sufficient 
size to give results that would hardly vary from what would have 
been obtained had all the questionnaires been used. In one or two 
instances, such as the study of time allotments, all the questionnaires 
were emiployed. 


TABLE 8 


? NO. OF QUESTIONNAIRES NO. OF QUESTIONNAIRES 
TYPE OF SCHOOL RECEIVED USED IN THIS STUDY 


Oneé-teacher 228-4 2h i kA hrc 161 60 
Two or three-teacher........ 116 50 
Four or more teacher........ 97 50 
Valle Gens case heer ce eee 44 20 


City Sat an cares Ca as ee eee 6 6 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS fab 


TABLE 9 
GRADE NO. OF CLASSES REGISTRATION 
50 ares Fat ity CR ete AR ce ke eel PE Ed SO 194 2 184 
EM acer) Per es US ain age ee ies te ; 274 DFAS 
ie A rapa See Dad WHR ie Rn rae 264 eae 
“alread Be! tech eee Se eee 259 2 934 


Oe are eatin tetera Meee nied rare ge 271 oneal 


Table 9 shows the number of classes in each grade and the total 
registration in each grade for all types of schools represented by the 
questionnaires that were received. 

In some instances teachers had more than one grade in English. 
Table 10 shows the distribution of number of grades for a teacher 
for each type of school, as well as the total number of pupils in each 
type of school represented by the questionnaires sent in. 

All the foregoing facts have some bearing upon the prevailing 
practice in the teaching of English in the schools. The teacher in a 
one-teacher school who must teach five or more grades has a more 
difficult piece of work iaid out for her than the teacher who has pupils 
in only three grades. It is obvious also that a teacher who teaches 
several different grades irrespective of their number is at a disadvan- 
tage when compared with the average city teacher having only one 
subject to teach or one grade to handle. When we take these facts 
into account and add to them the fact that the amount of time devoted 
weekly to English varies from 12 to 175 minutes in the fourth grade 
in one-teacher schools and that it varies from 12 minutes in a fourth 
grade of a one-teacher school to 600 minutes in the eighth grade of a 
village school, we see some reason for differences in attainment. 
This question of time allotment plays an important part in the matter 
of pupil achievement. 


TasLe 10 


Number of grades for each teacher answering questionnaire and total 
number of pupils 


pe ee ee 


TYPE OF SCHOOL 








Two or 

NO. OF GRADES three- Four or more 

PER TEACHER One-teacher teacher teacher Village City Total 
SrOr ANOMerts cick 2 41 16 0 0 0 a7, 
Ee AB) MRR) Cc 47 41 1 0 0 89 
OP Sher et tae aereiet 50 29 10 0 0 85 
Dis nee, BB tral Chote OMe ch 19 37 44 0 0 90 
Pk ois aha eel ats a 3 3 26 26 3 61 
Departmentalized.. are 18 3 PAI 


ee ee 


No. of pupils en- ; 
OURO een EtG oot 2 451 2 697 4 485 778 2 993 13 404 








UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


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ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 29 


Similar differences in time allotment appear in connection with 
parts of English such as oral English and corrective English. The 
data are given in detail in table 11. It is evident that some teachers 
devote a large amount of time to certain phases of work and a small 
amount to other phases. For instance, the maximum amount of time 
given to oral English in any type of school is 270 minutes reported 
in the sixth grade in certain village schools. On the other hand, it 
is as low as 20 minutes weekly in the eighth grade in other village 
schools. The maximum amount of time devoted to literature is 250 
minutes in grade 8 in four or more teacher schools and a minimum 
is reported as 1 minute in the fourth and sixth grades of one-teacher 
schools. 

It is, of course, possible that teachers in answering these questions 
made errors in their interpretation. The range in time allotment, 
however, is certainly very great. 

The last line in table 11 shows the variation for all types of schools 
in the amount of school time devoted to the preparation of English 
work. The variation, as is to be expected, is considerable. As little 
as no time at all up to 600 minutes weekly is reported devoted to the 
preparation of English work. Although some of this time is evi- 
dently under supervision, it is negligible compared to the amount of 
time devoted to ordinary unsupervised study. Of those answering 
the questionnaire seventy-two teachers reported that they gave no 
time to the supervision of the study that their pupils did. They are 
missing an opportunity for after all the largest purpose of teaching 
is training the pupil to teach himself and this can be done best by 
teaching him how to study through supervising his study periods. 
Related to this is the way the teacher undertakes the assignment. 
Most teachers stress this phase of their work but in different ways. 
The following devices were mentioned most often: 


Explanation of difficult parts 
Explanation of new work through the use of simple illustrations 
Introduction to reference books 


Only one teacher mentioned discussion or motivation as a means 
of arousing a desire or need for the lesson. On the whole, a rural 
teacher does not fully comprehend the relation of the assignment to 
the proper mastery of the work; nor does she appear to comprehend 
the importance of an adequate assignment compared with a meager 
assignment followed by an extended recitation which after all is 
usually nothing more than a sort of test. 

Table 12 shows the extent to which teachers use the textbook or 
the state syllabus in their teaching. About 69 per cent of the teachers 


30 THE. UNIVERSITY OF THE-STATE OF > NEW. YORE 


reporting on this point follow the textbook wholly or in part in their 
work while about 99 per cent follow the state syllabus. Teachers 
do need some guidance in their work and should use reputable text- 
- books and the state syllabus provided they do not teach the textbook 
and the syllabus in preference to teaching the children. The text- 
book most used is Essentials of English by Pearson and Kirchway. 
Next in favor is Oral and Written English by Potter, Jeschke and 
Gillett. Other. texts are in scattered use. Tabulation of answers 
to the question concerning the pieces of literature used by the teachers 
shows that the following are the six most widely used in all types 


of schools. 
Number of teachers 


Grade Name of book mentioning it 
ETA Wet eet ‘er easute-lslande- sm cncn ae RS ad 5 § 46 
Hervetiiel .4...75 EER in| SM Seca ees ae! A 45 
Rebecca: of Sunnybrook: Parise seen are 42 
TheeSkeletonsin "Armor oe ape. aera 4] 
Anne ot Greear Gables oe ee ee 28 
Barbarag lH rentchiel 7g aac mos er oe eee oe 28 
Rete ta pone ThevMarm -withontoa (ountry.creueen oon ae 115 
Eyaneceline®<:. 77% oitee oe ca ee ee 86 
Legend ‘of Sleepy: Hollow ssg-4 eee eee 79 
‘Lhes Courtship; of. Milesi Standish... oe 74 
The Vision -oreSit? Lainialges: ete ae 53 
The; Gold :Burg “64 Viena hie as eee renee 47 


The question concerning the use of newspapers and magazines 
brought the answers shown in table 13. The most commonly used 
magazines and newspapers are listed below the table. Apparently 
there is a rather wide use of periodicals in the schools of the State. 
This indicates that many teachers have the idea that material in such 
local newspapers as they can secure and such periodicals as the 
Normal Instructor or the Literary Digest are of value in oral and 
written work. 

In connection with the literature read, systematic memorization is 
reported as being required by about 91 per cent of all teachers reply- 
ing. As sources of this memory work are mentioned collections of 
memory material as well as the syllabus, the textbook and the library. 
The particular source of the material is not so important as the 
building up of the habit of memorization and the utilization of this 
skill when occasion requires. 

As an aid toward establishing a wide acquaintance with literature, 
supplementary reading seems to be required by a large percentage 
of teachers. The amount varies, but the majority of schools of all 
types seem to require about six books a year from each pupil. The 
is not to be confused with the 
use of supplementary readers but is concerned chiefly with the library 


9 


question of “ supplementary reading 


ENGLISH IN RURAL AND: VILLAGE SCHOOLS ot 


and its development. If schools wish to establish the reading habit 
and to build up a love for literature through contact with books, then 
they must have books for children to read. The school library is 
essential for effective supplementary reading. 

In answer to the question concerning the correlation of English 
with other subjects, the reports indicated that English is correlated 
with 


History in 77 per cent of the classes 
Geography in 72 per cent of the classes 
Nature Study in 37 per cent of the classes 
Spelling in 33 per cent of the classes 


ABLES Ac 
Number of teachers using textbook or syllabus as basis for English 











TYPE OF SCHOOL 





BASIS FOR Two or Four or 
ENGLISH ANSWER three- more 
CURRICULUM One-teacher teacher teacher Village City Total 
(@WeSre tee tie tcl. 68 41 oF 15 0 161 
rn eINO Spe tomers ators asi 34 38 28 14 6 120 
adel Wie ) Answer omitted 12 8 10 10 0 40 
lgbaxtl yin eee 47 28 19 5 0 109 
| nen Re Tee ee eerie 149 107 84 36 6 382 
: IN Ole ua etsnanesatens U ] 3 1 0 5 
So DUS Ee isc | Answer omitted 7 1 5 2 0 15 
eee laee Bon curiae 5 5 3 5 0 18 
TABLE 13 
Number of teachers using magazines, newspapers etc. 
TYPE OF .SCHOOL 
Two or Four or 
TYPE - USE three- more : : 
One-teacher teacher teacher Village City Total 
: § Yes 42 AV 36 11g) 3 124 
eee ts No 18 18 14 9 3 62 
2 Yes 46 35 45 9) 4 145 
ReresbOn ets teal 14 15 5 5 2 4] 
Other printed { Mesmr ade: 28 20 14 5 2 69 
Matemlals spect | NOTES - 32 30 36 FS} 4 i al7/ 
Magazines used Newspapers used 
Name No. of Classes Name No. of Classes 
Dortnal, |AStructors.cc sens 3 Aon Mirrvente Ivents renee. ee. ees 85 
Piteraiy: Wigest ie ies cay te Al) ee Oa Sede etete OG ESS Ske 80 
REGO a WiC i ke eth te idee fine Dh meee AUUEATI CG Camino occ sae es 0.0 ole 18 
Other printed material 
Name No. of Classes 
Corgell Leafiet=. oon tee. so. 9 


32 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 


as well as to a lesser extent with a number of other subjects. A 
large number of devices were mentioned as means of effecting this 
correlation. Of these the most frequently mentioned is written 
work probably through the use of topics in Enelish drawn from other 
fields. The second is oral work in the same way. These are the 
two most common -ways of correlating the work in these subjects 
and by far the easiest. Examples of oral and written devices included 
description of nature objects, oral work in geography, oral or written 
work in history, outlines etc. 

Thirty-three per cent of the teachers reported that they taught 
spelling as a part of English, meaning that they emphasized the cor- 
rect spelling of words in written composition work. At the same 
time 97 per cent of all teachers teach spelling as a separate subject. 
Table 14 gives the teachers’ answers for each type of school. 

Obviously spelling may be justified as a separate subject but unless 
emphasis is placed on spelling as an integral part of English by all 
teachers, the ability of the pupil to spell will be measured by his 
proficiency in spelling columns of isolated words rather than by his 
skill in spelling accurately the words he uses in his own spontaneous 
writing. Without question the latter achievement is of paramount 
importance. In this connection it should be pointed out that par- 
ticularly in the lower grades the largest number of errors in sentence 
writing are in spelling, that is, the spelling of the words that the 
pupil himself uses.t 

Teachers need sound devices for furthering instruction. In oral 
English the following devices were most frequently reported: 


Dramatization by 22 per cent of all teachers 

Telling of stories by 20 per cent of all teachers 

Current events (pupil’s choice) by 18 per cent of all teachers 
Language games by 16 per cent of all teachers 


These are largely limited to the English period. From the returns 
of the questionnaire, however, it 1s quite evident that oral work in 
English is not confined to English classes, but in over 85 per cent 
of the schools is extended to other classes in other subjects. The 
topical recitation seems to lead as a means of accomplishing such 
work. Correlation, the maintenance of one standard, the requiring 
of accurate sentences in English expression are also cited as ways in 
which the oral English taught in the oral English period may be better 
established. This is a healthy sign in our elementary schools because 





1 See table 3, figures 6-9, pages 10, 11, 12. 


ENGLISH “IN “RURAL AND. VILLAGE SCHOOLS 33 


it shows that teachers in general are coming to appreciate the fact 
that the process of “ teaching English ” is one involved in the teach- 
ing of every subject and can not be evaded anywhere if commendable 
results are to be obtained. The teacher who does not consider every 
recitation a recitation in English and who does not take advantage of 
this, loses her opportunity to establish right habits in her pupils. 

In corrective English the most frequently mentioned devices were: 
language games by 33 per cent; pupils correcting other pupils by 25 
per cent; drill 18 per cent; correcting book sentences 15 per cent. 
At this point it must be said that while drill is used by varying num- 
bers of teachers, it probably is not used so much-by any teacher as 
it should be. There probably is no device that can be favorably 
compared with consistent logical drill for effectiveness of instruction. 
Language games are very useful and as a means of fixing correct 
language habits are not excelled by any device commonly used, except 
drill. 

The questionnaire disclosed the fact that formal grammar is still 
taught, 74 per cent of all teachers concerned in the investigation 
reporting that they drill pupils in grammatical forms, presumably 
for their own sakes. On the other hand, 65 per cent report that they 
stress functional grammar. Clearly some teachers teach both formal 
and functional grammar. In every type of school the method by 
which the grammar of use is most often stressed is corrective English. 
Some teachers use analysis and drill in emphasizing the elements of 
grammar needed. About 60 per cent of all teachers use the diagram 
as a teaching device, chiefly on account of the “ vivid visual impres- 
sion’’ its use conveys. Many teachers report that pupils “seem to 
understand easily’ when the diagram is used. Some teachers are 
frank in saying, however, that they do not use the diagram because 
etidcceGisiikes it, edhe ISP CIMCUIE madNdalysiseis: peter, -)mtdo 


‘ 


the 
mechanical,’ 


x 66 


not accurate.” 

Referring to page 7, the reader will notice that the median eighth 
grade score on the grammar test is, for any type of school, not more 
than 50 per cent of the total possible score. In the seventh grade 
the median score on the grammar test is not more than one-half of 
this. The pupils’ ability to use correct grammatical forms and to 
correct incorrect grammatical forms, as expressed by the scores on 
the sentence structure test (G) and both parts.of the language usage 
test, is much more nearly perfect than are the median scores on the 
gramiar test. These facts are mentioned as aids in evaluating the 
teaching of grammar in the State. 


34 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE;OF NEWYORK 


TABLE 14 
Number of teachers teaching spelling as part of English or separately 


TYPE OF SCHOOL 


Two or Four or 
METHOD ANSWER : three- more 
One-teacher teacher teacher Village City Total 
As part of ; Yesietna. 92 69 Lats 50 19 2 232 
Enelishpeeee steer 59 42 42 22 3 168 
As separate yic¥es evs. 156 3 90 40 6 405 
SUDjECts cient el eNO Ue 5 2 1 3 0 11 


The amount of written work required of seventh and eighth grade 
children varies from one composition a week to five. The type of 
school seems to* have little effect upon ‘the amount required. 
Obviously the school requiring five compositions or even four or 
three 1s requiring too much formal written work. Probably one 
composition a week, and that not always in the English period, is a 
maximum amount to be expected of seventh and eighth grade chil- 
dren. One composition well done and properly used is worth any 
quantity poorly done and improperly used. 

That a large number of the teachers stress all written work as 
English work is indicated in the following table: 


TABLETS 
Number of teachers stressing all written work as English work 
Two or 
One- three- Four- é 
teacher - teacher teacher  Vullage City 
VEG eres Pench rh, eros 13) 89 74 a: 1 
INO aoe oiayee heal eee 18 22 9 4 2 


mitted: 42 ee ae 11 X 12 13 3 





It would seem essential for teachers to require the same standard 
for all written work whether in the English period or in any other 
period if the desired habits in English composition are to be instilled 
and maintained so that they will function after the pupil leaves school. 
The meaning of “stress”? on written work in other subjects varies, 
however, with different teachers. Some teachers stated that they 
insisted on clearness of meaning; others insisted on having papers 
rewritten if they contained many errors; others stressed the correct- 
ness of written work in so far as it did not hinder work in the par- 
ticular subject, etc. 

One disappointing feature in the replies received to the question- 
naire was the fact that nearly two-thirds of all teachers are teaching 
literature intensively, although the tendency today is away from the 
intensive teaching of literature toward an extensive acquaintance 


rs 5 4 , 
ee, . of * L 
\ ENGLISH IN RURAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS 35 Po 


_» with literature. Reading in class is reported by more than one-third 
of the teachers as the most used means of teaching literature. This 
method is capable of abuse and is generally regarded as a time waster. 
Clear discussion of literature is preferable but is not reported as 
being used to so great a degree. A few teachers report a scattered 
use of methods indicative of a clear understanding of present ten- 
dencies in the teaching of literature. These teachers, however, are 
too few in number. Organization of the work in a school, and 
tradition are responsible for many debatable practices. One of these 
relates to the separation or combination of classes in reading and 
literature. In general, a preferred practice in this respect is to 
combine classes in reading and literature in grades 7 and 8, devoting 
some of the literature time to silent reading in both these grades. 
Many teachers do this already; all should do so. 

It is encouraging to note that there are in the minds of many 
teachers clearly defined aims in their teaching of English in all grades. 
These aims are variously expressed, a large number of teachers hold- 
ing that “to form correct habits of oral and written expression” is 
the most important aim, as it is. When it comes to the aims in the 
teaching of literature at the end of the eighth grade, a “taste for 
good books” and the “appreciation of worth while books” lead as 
criteria in this phase of English instruction. These aims are laudable 
and, if followed to the ultimate conclusion, will bring results that will 
fit children for life and make them, likewise, better high school 
material. 


36 


ue 


THE UNIVERSE Y* OF ‘THE STATE OF NEW > YORK 











\ 


Bulletins and Pamphlets Brepenta by the Educational Measurements 


Bureau 

BULLETIN 

NUMBER 

734 Morrison, J. C. Educational Measurements. 1921. Out of print 

764 Morrison, J. C.:; Spelling in New York Rural Schools. 1922. 5 cents 

772 Morrison, J. C. Some Administrative Uses Made of Standard Tests 
and Scales in the State of New York, 1921-22. 1923. Out of print 

784 Morrison, J. C. The Use of Standard Tests and Scales in the Platts- 
burg High School. 1923. 10 cents 

798 Coxe, W. W. Silent Reading in New York Rural Schools. 1924, 
5 cents 

802 Coxe, W. W. Organization of Special Classes for ctnrenat Chil- 
dren. 1924. Out of print 

803 Coxe, W. W. & Richards, E. B. Suggestions for Teaching Silent 
Reading. 1924. 5 cents 

806 Morrison, J. C., Cornell, W. B. & Coxe, W. w. Survey of the Need 
for Special Schools and Classes in Westchester County, New York. 
1924. 5 cents 

814 Coxe, W. W. & Orleans, J. S. One Year’s Reading Progress in 
New York Rural-Schools. 1925. 10 cents 

819 Coxe, W. W. Organization of. special Classes for Subnormal Chil- 
dren. 1925. 5 cents 

Revision of Bulletin 802 

835 Orleans, J. S. Survey of Educational Facilities for Crippled Chil- 
dren in New York State. 1925. 5 cents 

839 Coxe, W. W. & Cornell, E. L. A Study of Pupil Achievement and 
Special Class Needs in Westbury, L. I. 1926. 20 cents 

841 Coxe, W. W. Study of Pupil Classification in the Villages of New 
York State. 1925. 20 cents 

843 Gray, E. A. Manual of Suggestions for the Use of the Phonograph 
in Special Classes. 1926. 10 cents 

846 Orleans, J. S. & Richards, E. B. English in the Rural and Village 


Schools of New York State. 1926. 10 cents 

Gray, E. A. Books in the New York State Library Especially Help- 
ful to the Special Class Teacher. 5 cents 

Tether, C. H. Hints for Special Class Gardens. 5 cents 

Ability Grouping in Junior and Senior High Schools. Mimeographed. 
Free 


Suggestions for Reclassifying Pupils in Small Rural Schools. Mime- 
ographed. Free 


Publications of the State Department of Education are free to schools 
and libraries in New York State. Others may purchase limited quantities 
at the cost of publication listed above. 

The above bulletins and pamphlets should be ordered from and checks 
made payable to The University of the State of New York, Albany, N. Y. 


